Marking the renaissance of social geographies in recent years, this major textbook showcases the breadth of conceptual and empirical approaches that scholars now utilize to understand contemporary social issues through a spatial lens.

The book is collectively authored by one of the largest groups of social geographers in the world. It develops a vision of social geographies that is rooted in the commitments that have characterised the sub-discipline for at least half a decade (e.g. society-space relations, justice, equality), while incorporating new approaches, theories and concerns (e.g. emotions, performance, and the more-than-human). Embracing the increasing porosity of our work with neighbouring economic, cultural, political and environmental geographies, the book provides a round-up of the state of the sub-discipline, capturing recent directions and charting new questions and challenges for theory, research and practice. It makes sense of the bewildering variety of contemporary social geographical interests, from longstanding topics (e.g. race, class and gender) to more recent interests (e.g. sustainability, digital worlds and social change).

Above all, it makes clear the relevance and contributions of social geographies not only to understanding a wide range of global and local issues, but to social change alongside communities, policy-makers and social movements.

• Each chapter offers an introduction to current work in social geographies, providing an overview and in-depth examples. The book has these key features that make it an essential resource for any social geography course:
• An accessible and engaging style that is ideal for entry level students
• Definitions of key terms and carefully explained concepts and ideas
• A range of exciting contemporary examples from a wide variety of geographical settings, including those drawn from the authors’ recent research
• Cross-referencing between chapters to help students expand learning
• Illustration with photos, tables, diagrams and other material
• Suggestions for further reading in each chapter
• “Real world research” and “real world theory” textboxes providing examples of research projects and theoretical perspectives, bringing topics alive and exploring challenges on the ground

Authored by the The Newcastle Social Geographies Collective and edited by Rachel Pain and Peter Hopkins

Part I Introductions
1. Creating More Social Geographies, Newcastle Social Geographies Collective
2. Theories in Social Geographies, Robert Shaw
3. Researching Social Geographies, Rachel Pain and Peter Hopkins

Part II Foundations
4. Space and Time, Robert Shaw
5. Scale, Quan Gao
6. Social Change, Alastair Bonnett
7. Justice, Craig Jones and Michael Richardson
8. Indigeneity, Stefan Rzedzian
9. Nation and Nationalism, Matthew C. Benwell
10. Urban/rural, Wen Lin and Ruth McAreavey
11. Everyday, Alison Stenning, with Leah Chan, Lottie Rhodes and Katy Smith
12. Emotion, Matej Blazek, with Leah Chan, Lottie Rhodes and Katy Smith

Part III Divisions
13. Race, Raksha Pande
14. Religion, Kawtar Najib and Robin Finlay
15. Class, Anoop Nayak
16. Gender, Michael Richardson, Raksha Pande and Ged Ridley
17. Sexualities, Graeme Mearns and Carl Bonner-Thompson
18. Disability, Janice McLaughlin
19. Age, Peter Hopkins and Rachel Pain
20. Intersectionality, Alessandro Boussalem, Nathar Iqbal and Peter Hopkins

Part IV Issues
21. Housing, Julia Heslop and Helen Jarvis
22. Wealth and Poverty, Roger Burrows
23. Health, Clare Bambra and Ali Copeland
24. Education, Simon Tate
25. Policing the City, Elaine Campbell
26. Migration and Diaspora, Maddy Thompson and Robin Finlay
27. Encounter, Nathar Iqbal
28. Social Reproduction, Al James
29. Performance, Ruth Raynor
30. Data, Niall Cunningham
31. Digital, Graeme Mearns and Carl Bonner-Thompson
32. Sustainability, Gareth Powells
33. Environmental Justice, Joe Herbert
34. Food and More-than-human Geographies, Suzanne Hocknell

2/24/22, Choice: This book was featured in a roundup of “Top 75 Community College Titles.”

Link: https://www.choice360.org/choice-pick/the-top-75-community-college-titles-february-2022/

This is exactly what social geography should be: a collective enterprise, with an edgy agenda that is inspiring, accessible and inclusive. Designed to be different, highly original, and steeped in social justice, this is a must-read, must-act manual for a new generation.
— Susan J. Smith